For Readers: Blog

Fiction in the Down Under: History, mystery, and romance in Australia and New Zealand

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline
This is a dramatic story of colonial Australia told through the eyes of women from all walks of life, including the daughter of an Aboriginal chief, a young governess, and a midwife and healer. Despite a hellish journey on a convict transport ship and cruel treatment at the penal colony, courageous women use the power of friendship to help create a new life for themselves and their children in this heartrending tale. [e-book | print | large type]

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey
In 19th-century Australia, Irish immigrant Ned Kelly was raised dirt poor, growing up to become an outlaw and a Robin Hood of his time, fighting the British ruling class and a corrupt justice system. Some called him a criminal and a murderer; most saw him as a national folk hero. Here he tells the dramatic tale of his exploits and two-year flight from the law in a series of letters to his unborn daughter. Great for fans of western fiction and adventure sagas. [e-book | print]

The Secret River by Kate Grenville
Based on the author’s family history, this evocative novel takes readers on a journey from the slums of 19th-century London to the penal colonies of Australia, from the pioneering settlers to the harsh treatment of the Aboriginal people. Petty thief William Thornhill claims land for his family in New South Wales, but the area has been occupied for centuries, resulting in an intense culture clash between the native population and settlers. [e-book | print]

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood
The Phryne Fisher mysteries are perfect for readers who love short books in long series. The first installment follows Miss Fisher, a stylish aristocrat turned amateur sleuth in 1920s Australia, as she works to solve a mystery involving poisoned wives, cocaine smugglers, corrupt cops, and Communism. Romantic encounters with a beautiful Russian dancer round out the plot. These books are the basis of the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries television series, available on DVD. [e-book | print | audiobook]

The Dry by Jane Harper
In this first novel in an atmospheric mysteries series, small town secrets and lies are uncovered after more than twenty years. Federal agent Aaron Falk is summoned to his hometown for the funeral of an old friend who provided a fake alibi for him years ago. Reluctantly, Falk joins forces with a local policeman to investigate his friend’s death, stirring up the dust in the drought-ridden western Australian town. [e-book | print | large type | audiobook]

A Madness of Sunshine by Nalini Singh
Fans of romantic suspense and crime dramas will be especially interested in this novel set in fictional Golden Cove, a gorgeous and remote New Zealand coastal town. After an eight-year absence, Anahera Rawiri returns to pick up the pieces of her life. Detective Will Gallagher, a transplant from Christchurch, deals mostly with minor incidents until a local Maori woman doesn’t return home from her morning run. As an outsider, Will needs Anahera’s help to investigate the mystery, which echoes the disappearance of hikers three years earlier. [e-book | print]

The Strays by Emily Bitto
Loosely based on the Heide Circle, an avant-garde art colony in 1930s Melbourne, this is the story of Lily, a young woman from a working-class family who befriends the three daughters of Evan Threntham, a bohemian artist. Longing to escape her ordinary life and join the glamorous, wild, creative world at Heide, Lily spends all her time there, in a coming-of-age story complete with deep friendships and grave consequences. [print]

Lost Autumn by Mary-Rose MacColl
When the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) tours the Australian continent by train, naive young Maddie Bright gets a job as his corresponding secretary. She becomes privy to all the glamour and excitement of royal life, but also the dark side and secrets involved, which surface nearly seventy years later. Love, loss, and betrayal are woven into this compelling story. [print]

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
After a family tragedy destroys Alice Hart’s world, she moves in with her grandmother, who runs a flower farm and home for abused women. She learns the unspoken language of Australian native flowers but, as time goes by, silence and secrets haunt her until she is forced to look for answers. This lyrical coming-of-age story is moving and enchanting. [e-book | print]

BONUS! Must-see TV from Down Under

A Place to Call Home (6 seasons) 
The wealthy and socially positioned Bligh family lives a relatively bland life at Ash Park until meeting Nurse Sarah Adams, then everything changes. This addictive family drama, set in post-WWII New South Wales, has everything you could possibly want in a show—secrets and betrayals, passion and romance, intrigue and murder, illicit relationships and illegitimate children, prejudice and redemption—all with outstanding actors and gorgeous costuming and scenery. [DVD] 

The Doctor Blake Mysteries (5 seasons)  
Dr. Lucien Blake returns to his native Australia after being away more than thirty years, studying medicine in Great Britain and serving in the Far East during WWII. Back home, he takes over his late father’s medical practice in the country town of Ballarat. With his forward-thinking knowledge of forensic science, his haunting war experiences, and his eccentric manner, he acts as the town’s police surgeon while solving murder mysteries. [DVD]

800 Words (3 seasons) 
After losing his beloved wife Laura, George Turner can’t continue living in Sydney, so he buys, sight unseen, a house in a rural New Zealand town. He wants to make a new start with his teenagers, Shay and Arlo, who are not at all happy to leave their home and friends. Everything that could go wrong does, but with humor and a wonderful cast of quirky, lovable characters, the family begins again. This fun series will make you forget your worries for a while. [Hoopla | DVD] 

—Anne